Eminent domain proposal on ballot: St Louis MO Post-Dispatch, 1/9/07

The [Creve Coeur MO] City Council on Monday night put on the April 3 election ballot a city charter amendment that would require a supermajority of six of eight council members to authorize the city's use of eminent domain.

The council had received the supermajority proposal from an initiative petition that 1,424 registered voters signed.

Some council members have said the measure would help ensure that eminent domain issues would be carefully debated and scrutinized to protect area property owners.

Eminent domain has been an issue in Creve Coeur because the Olive Boulevard Transportation Development District could have used it to obtain service station property at Olive and CityPlace Drive; the station's operator objected to the use of eminent domain. Ultimately, Koman Group, organizer of the district, obtained the property for its CityPlace complex.

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St Louis MO Post-Dispatch: http://www.stltoday.com